Heat-regulator



E. H. WHITE.

HEAT REGULATOR.

7 APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12 1919. 1,393,060. Patented 11, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1-' Z8 Z7 34 2s /74 4-0 III 5| "1 1H1 so 54 In ven for) Everett H. Wh/ be.

Attorneys E. H. WHITE.

HEAT REGULATOR.

APPLlCATION FILED SEPT. 12. 1919.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I Inventor. Ever ett H. W/u't'c.

Attorneys.

E. H. WHITE.

HEAT REGULATOR.

APFfLlCATION FILED SEPT-12,1919.

1,393,060. Patented 001. 11, 1921.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

Inven for jEveretz: H. wmtel Q AMJ M/MM After/1e Ys.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HEAT-REGULATOR Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 11, 1921.

- Application filed September 12, 1919. Serial No. 323,394.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Evnnm'r H. WHITE, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Paul, .in the county of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'in Heat-Regulators, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to heat regulators and has for an object to provide an improved device for makin and breaking electrical circuits governed by the temperature of the room in which the device is located, the

' making and breaking of the circuits operating suitable controlling mechanism by means of which the furnace is regulated. The present invention is an improvement on my prior Patent 1,271,815 issued July 9, 1918, and an object in particular is to provide an efficient mechanism which may be set manually for a low temperature when desired, for instance at night, and which will be automatically changed for a higher temperature at a pre-- determined time thereafter, for instance in the morning.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description thereof and the novel features embodied in my inventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the application of my invention in one form,

Figure 1 is afront elevational view with the casing removed and with some of the parts shown in dotted lines. stantially in vertical section through the center with some parts shown in elevation. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the device differently set. Fig. 4 is a top plan view showing a guard attached. Fig. 5 is a detail view on the line 55 of 1*ig. 2. Fig. 6 is a front elevational view with a portion of the guard broken away. Fig. 7 is a view in side elevation with a portion of the casing broken away.

My device comprises a metal back 10 having turned up edges 11 and 12 to which is attached a casing '13. The back 10 is of heavier metal than the casing and serves to support the operating par'ts.- Pivotally attached to the back by a screw 14 is a bracket 15 having'a raised portion 16 resting without excess play and holds the-iparts attached thereto in proper relation to the other Fig. 2 is a view sub parts of the device. Extending out from the bracket 15 is a lug 17 terminating in two bosses 18 and 19. The boss 18 has a screw threaded hole to receive a stud 20 to which is attached the thermostatic device as best shown in Fig. 2. The latter device preferably consists of a pair of corrugated discoidal members 21 and 22 which are hollow and sealed from the atmosphere and which contain a gas readily acted upon by heat to cause said members to expand in the usual manner. At the upper portion of the bracket 15 are a pair of parallel lugs 24 and 25 extending out beyond the thermostatic member 22. Between these lugs upon a pin 28 is pivoted a bell crank lever having arms 26 and 27 extending at right angles to each other. The arm 26 is engaged by a peg 23 secured to the thermostatic member 22 and the arm 27 is free to oscillate as the members 21 and 22 expand or contract. .Mounted at one of its ends in the bracket 15 and at the other of its ends in a screw 29 inserted in the boss 19, as best shown in Fig. 2, is a spindle 30 carrying a pointer 31. Also mounted on the spindle 30 is a U-shaped arm 32 attached at one end to the pointer and at its other end pivotally connected to a link 33, the upper end of which is attached by a. reduced portion 34 to the lever arm 27. Any movement of the members 21 and 22 is communicated through the lever arms 26 and 27 by means of the connecting link 33 to the arm 32 thus actuating the pointer 31. As the arm 32 is relatively short, the movement of the thermostatic device is multiplied so that the pointer makes a substantial sweep for only a few degrees of change in temperature. The pointer 31 is returned to the position corresponding to the minimum temperature by a spring 35 coiled around a peg 36 secured in the bracket 15 and having one end secured in the bracket at 37 and the other end 38 connected to the arm 32 by a link 39. Adjustment-of the position of the pointer 31 may be made by. rotating the members 21 and 22 to screw the stud 20 into the boss 18 and the stud is held in position after it has been set by means of a set screw 73 screwed into the lug 17 into engagement with the stud.

The pointer 31 serves as a movable contact member which is adapted to engage in succession a number of fixed contact members, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

These fixed contact members include two end members 40 and 41 of which the member 41 is the more extensive, there being also two intermediate contact members 42 and 43. The members 40 and 41 are provided with lugs which are engaged by short members are arranged in an arc of a circle whose center is the pivot 14 and they are attached to a lug 48 on the back 10 by means of a single screw 49 extending through the bar 45 whereby the position of the arc can be readily adjusted. The pointer 31, as bestshown in Fi 2, is provided with a contact head 50 WlllCh engages the fixed contact members in succession as the temperature changes and successively completes the various circuits therethrough. All of the contact members and the part 50 of the pointer 31 may be seen from outside the device through an opening in the case which may have a transparent window 51, if desired. The position of the dampers on the furnace may thus be readily known by observing the position of the pointer.

It will be understood that if the bracket 15 is rotated upon pivot 14, the whole thermostatic device including the pointer will be rotated relatively to the fixed contact members. The means for partially rotating the bracket will now be described. The bracket has a depending portion provided with a peg 52 which extends into a slot 53 in the upper end of a lever 54 pivoted near its middle upon a screw 55 extending into the back 10. This le'ver extends out through the bottom of the casing and is bent forwardly upon itself and terminates in a pointed end 56. A spring 57 has its upper end held by a screw 58 and its free end engages the lever .54 and tends to move the lower arm thereof toward the right. A stop arm 59 is provided at its upper end with a slot 60 through which the screw 55 extends and the lower end of this arm extends out through the bottom of the casing so as to'lie immediately beneath the lower end of the lever 54. The lower end of the stop arm 59 is provided with an outstanding tooth 61 which constitutes a stop for the lower end of the lever 54 and, as shown in Fig. 1, prevents the lever from being forced by the spring 57 fart-her toward the right than the stop arm. The tooth 61 is engageable in a notched segment 62 se cured to the back end by ears 63. A diagonally positioned spring 64 attached at one end to the stop arm 59 normally draws the latter upwardly and holds the tooth 61 engaged with the notched segment. When the stop arm is located centrally of the notched segment, as shown in Fig. 1, thethermostat will be in such position that the temperature of the room will be maintained at about degrees. If it is desired to normally maintain a different temperature for the room, the stop arm 59 is pulled down to disengage the tooth 61, this movement being permitted by the slot 60 in the upper end of this arm. In case a higher temperature is desired, the lower end of the stop arm is swung toward the right, and if a lower temperature is desired it is swung toward the left. The arm 59 in any position to which it is set continues to constitute a stop member for the lever 54.

It is frequently desirable to be able to set the device to maintain a lower room temperature for a period of time and then automatically restore the device to a position which will maintain the room at a predetermined higher temperature. As an instance of such use it is of advantage to be able to set the device manually for a lower 'room temperature at night and to provide means for automatically changing the setting to obtain a higher temperature in the morning. This result is accomplished by the following construction: Instead of attaching the spring 64 to the back 10, it is attached to a U-shaped lever having the two arms 65 and 66 connected by an end portion 67 to which the spring is hooked. This lever is pivotally mounted upon a screw 68 which passes loosely through the arms 65 and 66 and is screwed into the back 10. The upper side of the arm 66 is provided with a notch 69, and the spring 64 holds the arm 66 up into engagement with the outturned end of the spring 57. When the lever 54 is moved to the extreme left into the position indicated in dotted lines at w in Fig. 3, the end of the spring 57 will be pushed back and will be engaged and held in the notch 69. The spring 57 will thereby be rendered ineffective to operate the lever 54 which may then be manually moved toward the right to a position such as indicated at b corresponding to the desired temperature which it is desired to maintain at night. The lever 54 will remain in this position as long as the spring 57 is engaged in the notch 69. The

the pointer 31. The binding post 73 is connected with any suitable source of electricity and the binding posts 71 are connected with any suitable form of operating device which may be employed to regulate the source of heat. A guard 74 may be attached to the casing to protect the thermostatic members, this guard being open at top and bottom to allow currents of air to pass in contact with the thermostatic members. A thermometer 75 may be attached to the guard while the casing is cut out as indicated at 76 to accommodate the thermostatic members and is further out out, as indicated at 77, to permit the bracket 15 to freely oscillate.

The operation and advantages of my heat regulator will be readily understood from the foregoing description. Vhen the lever 54 is pushed toward the left, the lower end of the spring 57; will be pushed toward the right and when the lever reaches its extreme position at the left theend of this spring will become engaged in the notch 69 and locked thereby. The lever may be left in its extreme left position if a temperature as low as that corresponding to this position is desired. If a temperature between the latter and the normal higher temperature is desired, the lever may be moved toward the right to any position short of actual contact with the stop arm. Since the spring 57 has been locked in operative position the lever will now remain in the posltion to which it is moved for the desired length of time or, in other words, until the time controlled device releases the spring 57, thereby causing the lever to be automatically returned to its osition in engagement with the stop arm. he device is thereby placed in its normal position corresponding to the higher room temperature.

I claim:

1. A heat regulator comprising a thermostatic member, a movable contact member, operating connections between said thermostatic member and said contact member, fixed contact members adapted to-be successively engaged by said movable contact member, a control member adapted to vary the positioning of said movable contact member relatively to said fixed contact members for a given roomtemperature, means tending to maintain said control member in a position corresponding to a relatively high room temperature, and means for looking and rendering said last mentioned means inoperative when said control member has been manually moved to a position corresponding to a minimum room temperature, said last mentioned means being adapted for operation by a time controlled device for releasing the same and thereby causing saidcontrol member to move automatically to its first mentioned position.

2. A heat regulator comprising a thermostatic member, a movable contact member, operating connections between said thermostatic member and said contact member, fixed contact members adapted to be successively'engaged by said movable contact member, a control member adapted to vary the positioning of said movable contact members relatively to said fixed contact member gjor a given room temperature, a resilient member normally engaging said control member and tending to move the same into one extreme position, means for rendering said resilient member inoperative when said control member has been manually moved to its other extreme position, said means being adapted for operation by a time controlled device for releasing said resilient member and thereby causing saidcontrol member to move automatically toward its first mentioned position and an adjustable stop for limiting the extent of such movement.

3..A heat regulator comprising a fixed member, a supporting member movably mounted thereon, a thermostatic member attached to said supporting member, a movable contact member carried by said supporting member, operating connections between said thermostatic member and said contact member, fixed contact members adapted to be successively engaged by said- 4. A heat regulator comprising a fixedmember, a supporting member rotatably mounted thereon, a thermostatic member fixed on said supporting member, a movable contact member pivoted to said supporting member, operating connections between said.thermostatic member and said contact member, fixed contact members adapted to be successively engaged by said movable contact member, a control member adapted to impart rotative movement to said supporting member, a resilient member normally engaging said control member and tending to move the same into one extreme position, a two arm lever, yielding means holding one arm of said two arm lever in engagement with said resilient member, said arm having a notch which engages and restrains said resilient member when said control member has been manually moved to its other extreme position, the other arm of said two arm lever being adapted for engagement by a time controlled device for releasing said resilient member and thereby causing said control member to move automatically toward its first mentioned position, and an adjustable stop for limiting the extent of such movement.

5. A heat regulator comprising a fixed member, a supporting member rotatably mounted thereon, a thermostatic member fixed on said supporting member, a pointer pivoted to said supporting member, operating connections between said thermostatic member and said pointer, fixed contact members adapted to be successively engaged by said pointer, 'a control lever adapted to impart rotative movement to said supporting member, a resilient member normally engaging said lever and tending to move the same into one extreme position, a two arm lever pivoted to said fixed member, a spring holding one arm of said two arm lever in engagement with said resilient member, said arm having a notch which engages and restrains said resilient member when said control lever has been manually moved to its other extreme position, the other arm of said two arm lever being adapted for engagement by a time controlled device for releasing said resilient member and thereby causing said control lever to move automatically toward its first mentioned position, and an adjustable stop for limiting the extent of such movement.

6. A heat regulator comprising a fixed member, a supporting member rotatably mounted thereon, a thermostatic member fixed on said supporting member, a pointer pivoted to said supportlng member, operating connections between said thermostatic member and said pointer, contact members on said fixed member adapted to, be successively engaged by said pointer, a control lever pivoted to said fixed member, a pivotal connection between one end of said lever and said supporting member, a leaf spring normally engaging said lever and tending to move the same into one extreme position, a U-shaped lever pivoted to said fixed member, a spring holding one arm of said U-shaped lever in engagement with the end of said leaf spring, said arm having a notch which engages and restrains said leaf spring when said control lever has been manually moved to its other extreme position, the other arm of said U-shaped lever being adapted for engagement by a time controlled device for releasing said leaf spring and thereby causing said control lever to move automatically toward its first mentioned position, and an adjustable stop arm for limiting the extent of such movement.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature.

EVERETT H. WHITE. 

